Ballina Shire Council’s final meeting for 2025 covered a lot of ground.
A mayoral minute from Mayor Sharon Cadwallader called for greater consultation between the state government and local councils, including Ballina, in developing the Far North Coast Regional Water Supply Business Case. Cr Kiri Dicker asked if this was about the Dunoon Dam. Cr Cadwallader said ‘all options need to be on the table’.
An amendment from Cr Dicker to remove the mayor from negotiations with the government and limit the consultation and advocacy role to Ballina’s General Manager failed, before the mayor’s original motion passed, with three councillors opposed.
Council then resolved to raise height limits in two areas of Lennox Head. After a break, attention turned to Cumbalum. All councillors except Phil Meehan voted to write to the developers of the Ballina Heights estate, expressing the urgent need for the provision of a commercial facility for local residents, now years overdue.
They also resolved to enforce the terms of the related planning agreement ‘to the greatest extent required to achieve this outcome’.
Wardell and beyond
Ballina Council then resolved to approve the application from Wardell CORE for the operation of a monthly twilight market at the Wardell Community Green Space, on condition that the toilets of the community facility at 3 Sinclair Street not be used.
In the festival and events funding program, a long list of community organisations were supported, with the top three events in terms of financial outlay being Love Lennox Festival ($30,000), Skullcandy Oz Grom Open ($25,000), and Alstonville’s New Year’s Eve Family Festival ($15,000).
Crs Michelle Bailey and Phil Meehan were not present for this section of the meeting.
Ballina Council renewed the lease for the Lennox Head Community Preschool, for peppercorn rent, before unanimously agreeing to auction 17 lots at the Russelton Industrial Estate.
Next, the updated Council Code of Meeting Practise was approved, as per the latest instructions from the Office of Local Government. The main change is that only one speaker will now be allowed to speak for and against each point in public forums, and for five minutes only.
Council decided to authorise the GM to negotiate for the reconstruction of the Wollongbar Sports Oval, and not to call for new tenders, and accepted J Hutchinson’s tender of $16,568,075 for the Alstonville Cultural Centre’s refurbishment and library extension.
North Creek Bridge
The North Creek Road and Bridge concept design (with an estimate cost of $72.5m) will go on public exhibition.
A rescission motion to reverse the offer of minimum rent to Social Futures for 30-32 Swift Street Ballina was lost, on the casting vote of the mayor.
Cr Simon Kinny’s idea of building two new park benches at Missingham Bridge found majority support, although it isn’t part of any forward operational plan.
Ballina Council will return for more fun and games in February 2026.
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With local government meeting practice across the state returning to confusion following the NSW Legislative Council's recent decision, Ballina Shire Council's last meeting included a lot of unanimous decisions and an argument about the remnants of the Big Scrub, in which Mayor Cadwallader used her casting vote to squash Cr Simon Chate's motion. Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) has approved Ballina Shire Council's application to increase its general income through a permanent special variation (SV) of 26.25% [in rates] over four years, from 2026-27 to 2029-30. Byron Greens members could expect to be asked to take the future of the Richmond River further south into account when choosing a candidate for next year’s state election. Local business owners in the Alstonville and Wollongbar townships are being encouraged to take the time to read through Ballina Shire Council’s draft plans, which are currently on exhibition. The Lennox Kinvara Action Group is calling for email submissions to Ballina Shire Council to stop the development of thousands of houses in a sensitive, flood-prone area, as the full scale of what's planned becomes better known.
Ballina Council wrap
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Call for concerned locals to email Ballina Council over mega-DA
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